[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

When Muroki tripped again, Umeme laughed as she went over to him, pressing down on his chest. "You still have some work to do," she said, grinning, "but I think you had enough for today." She stepped off Muroki, allowing him to get back up. Looking up at the sky, Umeme frowned at how much time had passed. "We need to go back now," she said, "it's getting late, and I want to be at the den before Lina and Delano get back."

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki was tempted to pull Umeme off his feet when she pressed down on his chest but he didn't. Instead he got back up once he could, deciding he'd get a chance to make her trip at one point or another, but not now. "Yeah, you're right." it was already starting to get cold, and Muroki could already tell that tonight was going to be even colder than the night before. He and Umeme began walking back towards the den, wondering how did it go for Lina and Delano today.

[DGFone]

Muroki and Umeme walked back to the den together. Umeme stuck close to Muroki's side, feeling the air cool down and wanting to share his warmth. When they came in sight of the den, Umeme saw that her parents were there, and rushed to them. "Hey mom! Hey dad!"

Moto was talking with Fadhili when he heard Umeme call out and looked up in time to see her run towards them. He smiled upon seeing her, spreading his paws out to let her run into a hug. "You're back," he said cheerfully, "how was your day?"

Umeme hugged both her parents before returning to Muroki's side. "It was fun," she sad, ginning. "But Muroki might disagree."

[TheWhistlerify]

Fadhili went ahead and joined in on the hug between her mate and her daughter, before allowing Umeme to return to Muroki's side as she waited to hear how was their day. Muroki smiled rather sheepishly, saying, "No, it was fun, but I'm not that good of a dancer." he still had some practicing to do, a lot of practicing now that he was thinking about it.

Fadhili couldn't help but chuckle. "Sounds like you've had quite a day. Have you two seen Delano and Lina by the way?" it was starting to get very dark, and she hoped that her daughter would return soon.

[DGFone]

Umeme briefly explained how she taught Muroki how to dance. Her parents were clearly amused by this, but didn't say much until the end.

But when Fadhili asked about Lina and Delano, Umeme frowned. "No, we didn't," she answered, "but they should be back soon. It's getting late, but give them some time and they'll be back." She smiled slightly. "We wanted to be here before them anyways."

Back in the open savanna, Delano forced himself back to where he left Lina. He still felt horrible, and wasn't sure if she would even allow him to get near her, but he had to make sure that she was okay. So when he didn't see her anywhere, he called out for her, his voice faltering a few times. She didn't answer. Spotting the crumpled grass where she lay, Delano rushed forwards, hoping that he would be able to follow her scent.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki tried to hide his nervousness as much as he could, even if it wasn't helpful, when Umeme went ahead and told her parents how she tried to teach him to dance. Well, hopefully that embarrassment would go away once he got better at dancing and stopped tripping over. Knowing Delano and Lina, the two were probably way focused on each other and didn't even notice that it was getting late. But that wasn't any reason to worry, since they will notice the time sooner or later.

Lina in the meantime had already gotten up and left for being there was kind of depressing for her. She didn't go that far though, only a minute's walk towards some tall grass where she lay knowing she wouldn't be able to see anyone and the other way around. When Delano called out her name her ears perked, but other than that she didn't react to it. Her body might have caught on to the noise but she herself was busy in her own thoughts.

[DGFone]

Easily catching onto Muroki's embarrassment, Umeme grinned. "We can always try again tomorrow," she suggested playfully, "if you want to, of course. But it won't be as bad as today was." She let out a small chuckle. "If you really want to know, when I started, I was even worse than you are now." She leaned into him, nuzzling him. "And the last thing I ever wanted to do was dance. But mom and dad insisted, and now look where I am."

Next to them, Moto overheard his daughter. "Yeah, as I remember, we had to get creative on how to persuade you to learn." Next to him, Fadhili couldn't hold back a laugh.

Delano caught Lina's scent and followed it, hoping that he wasn't too late. At the same time, he hoped that he wouldn't spot her, because he was dreading the moment when he would. But as he went over a small hill, he saw Lina and stopped immediately. She must have heard him call out to her, and if she didn't respond, it meant that she didn't want to be near him.

The realization hit Delano like a blow from an angry lion, and he almost fell over because of it. Not really knowing what to do, he slowly approached Lina, forcing himself to move forward every step of the way.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but chuckle. It made him imagine his parents-in-law having a horrible time trying to convince Umeme as a cub to dance, and he found the image rather cute and amusing. "Alright, we can try again tomorrow." Dancing wasn't all that bad. so he wouldn't mind practicing some more if it meant he got to spend time with Umeme while at it.

Lina was still so disconnected from reality that she failed to notice Delano approaching her, not even noticing him when he came to a stop right in front of her. The only thing she was seeing and hearing right now was the moment he shouted at her, which kept repeating itself over and over no matter how much she wished for it to stop. She wasn't even sobbing anymore, she was out of tears and strength to cry with after crying for hours after hours.

[DGFone]

Umeme giggled and patted Muroki's shoulder. "Alright, we'll do that," she said. She looked quickly over at her parents, and got a mischievous idea. "You know," she whispered to Muroki, "I can always ask them to teach you some of the harder moves..." The look that Muroki gave her for that idea was pure gold.

When Delano managed to make his way to Lina, what he found horrified him. She looked like a mess, and clearly was crying for a long time. And it was all his fault. "Lina..." Delano said softly, ignoring the lump forming in his throat, "let's go... we need to go home." He gently pushed her along, but almost found it necessary as she shied away from him.

What lay back at the den, Delano didn't know. But as he guided Lina back, he began to feel a fear growing in him, and he realized that it was the almost certain wrath from her parents that he was afraid of. But he had to get Lina back to the den. This was his mess, and he better start cleaning it up. Somehow.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki looked at Umeme with wide eyes as she offered to have her parents teach him to dance. If he thought just talking to them was embarrassing, then the word embarrassing has just earned itself a new definition. "Uh... I'll have to pass..." he said, chuckling nervously, "Beside, I'm sure they taught you more than well." he nuzzled her, "I'd rather have you teach me."

It took Lina a while to notice that Delano was, which caused her to nervously shy away from him yet again. To be honest, she didn't want to go home, she felt ashamed. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, nor did she want to have anyone question her about why she was looking so horrible. The weather however had other opinions, and the cold wind didn't really give Lina the option to stay, so she slowly began to walk towards the den, her gaze fixed on the ground.